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First printing

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN (hardback) 978-1-4222-3527-0 ISBN (series) 978-1-4222-3523-2 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4222-8347-9

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WILDLIFE ODDITIES INCREDIBLE INSECTS MYSTIFYING MAMMALS PECULIAR PLANTS REMARKABLE REPTILES SHOCKING SEA CREATURES PICTURE CREDITS

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CONTENTS

The Opposite of Mammals?

4 6 8

Heat-Loving Reptiles

Distant Cousins

Move It!

10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

A Sixth Sense? Predator Party

Choose Your Weapon Keeping Off the Menu

Now You See It—Now You Don’t

Growing Up Reptile Style

An Old, Old Story

Remarkable Reptile Facts Remarkable Reptile Words Remarkable Reptile Projects

Index

There might be a good reason why aliens in books and movies so often look like reptiles. With their scaly skin and cold blood, this group of animals has some the weirdest and scariest species on Earth. The reptile family includes small, darting lizards, slithery snakes, turtles, and hard-shelled tortoises. Giant crocodiles with rows of sharp teeth are reptiles, too. Reptiles are one of the Earth’s main and oldest groups of animals. They lived alongside the dinosaurs that dominated the planet millions of years ago.

Today there are about 6,500 different species, or kinds, of reptiles. The reptile family can be divided into four main groups: snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles. Over half of all living reptiles are lizards. Most of the rest are snakes.

7 Lizards are the largest family of reptiles. Chameleons, geckos, iguanas (shown here), and skinks are all types of lizards, too.

4.

REPTILE EGGS Most reptiles bury their eggs in the soil. The babies growing inside are protected by the egg’s tough shell. When fully grown, the young reptiles break out of their shells. This is called hatching. SIDEBAR

Reptiles vary a lot in size and shape, but they also have many things in common. For example, all reptiles have scaly skin. Scales are small, hard layers of skin that overlap and cover the body of the reptile. They help protect reptiles from enemies. Many reptiles produce young by laying eggs, but some produce live young.

Snakes are reptiles with long, thin bodies and no legs. This group of reptiles includes cobras, vipers, and boas, such as the emerald boa shown here. 7

Crocodiles are a group of large, fierce reptiles. This group includes alligators, caimans, and gharials (like this one). 7

5.

Unlike birds, mammals, or insects, reptiles haven’t made it to every continent on Earth. They live in many different places—on dry land, in lakes, along rivers, or near the sea. But they don’t live in very cold places, such as the Arctic. They need heat from the Sun to keep them warm. The thick, leafy forests around the equator are home

Tuataras are very rare. They live only on a few small islands around New Zealand. 7

to many different reptiles. Others are found in cooler woodlands and grasslands. Some reptiles, such as geckos, even share our houses.

SIDEBAR

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Tuataras have a spiny crest running down their backs. The Maori people of New Zealand gave these strange reptiles their name, which means “peaks on the back.”

6.

Though deserts can be harsh places where very little rain falls and the sun shines down fiercely, many lizards call it home. You may be surprised to learn that many snakes and tortoises live there, too. Other reptiles spend their lives in or around fresh or saltwater. Crocodiles live in swamps or rivers. Turtles and terrapins live in lakes and streams. Sea turtles swim in the open ocean.

Desert reptiles like this desert tortoise spend the hottest part of the day hiding under stones or finding shelter in cool burrows. 7

Worm lizards are a weird group of reptiles that spend their lives burrowing underground. They are neither worms nor lizards. There are 140 different kinds of these strange creatures! Most have no legs.

7 Marine iguanas are lizards that live on rocky seashores. They dive off rocks to feed on seaweed under the water.

7.

People (mammals) share some traits with reptiles. We both have a bony skeleton, a brain and heart, lungs, and a stomach and intestines to digest food. But the similarities end there! Reptiles come in many different shapes and sizes. Turtles have an unusual shape. Their shell is part of their skeleton. Snakes and some lizards are different from other reptiles, too, because they have no legs. But most reptiles have a long, slim body and a tail, with four short legs that spread sideways to take their weight.

A reptile’s scales are made of a tough material called keratin. Your fingernails are made of the same stuff. The scales form a barrier, like a suit of armor. But unlike armor, the reptile’s skin bends, so it can move—and some move very quickly.

All reptiles shed or lose their old scales from time to time. This is called molting.

Some reptiles have extra armor. The thorny devil found in the American desert is a lizard with sharp spikes on its body to keep enemies away.

8

8.

SIDEBAR

A LONG, COLD NAP Reptiles living in places that have cold winters cannot stay active all year-round. In autumn, they fall into a deathlike state called hibernation. When the weather warms in spring, they are lively again.

Underneath is a new scaly skin. Most reptiles shed their scales either one at a time or in patches. Snakes shed their skin in one piece. All reptiles are “cold- blooded.” This doesn’t mean they are always

cold. It means they can’t make their own heat. Unlike us, they need the Sun’s heat energy to warm their muscles, so they can move around. They change their body temperature by moving between warm and cool places throughout the day.

The scales on the skin of this pit viper protect it from enemies yet allow it to move freely. 8

7 A snake sheds its skin. Its empty skin looks like a ghost snake!

9.

You’d never ask a turtle to be part of your relay race team. But many other types of reptiles can zip around fast— one is so fast that it seems to walk on water. Some are expert swimmers, and others are cagey climbers. A few lizards and snakes can even glide through the air! Lizards are speedy runners. They scurry quickly over the ground, swinging their bodies from side to side to take long strides. Chameleons scramble around in trees with the

SIDEBAR

BY LAND, SEA, AND AIR Some snakes are fast movers, even though they have no legs. Snakes move in different ways. Some bunch their bodies into tight coils and then straighten them out again, in an accordion-style movement against the ground. Others, such as sidewinders, throw their bodies into S-shaped curves that press against the ground.

help of rough soles on their feet. These rough soles help them to grip smooth branches. Tree snakes have ridged scales on their bellies that work in the same way.

A chameleon’s toes have scaled soles with tiny hairs that grip like plastic wrap. They grip so well that the lizard can climb sheer walls and even run across the ceiling upside down! 7

10.

Some reptiles are strong swimmers. Crocodiles zoom through the water by thrashing their strong tails from side to side. Tortoises are slow on land, but sea turtles are fast swimmers. They flap their front flippers up and down underwater, like birds flap their wings in the air.

The basilisk lizard can run across the surface of a pool to escape from its enemies. Sheer speed keeps it afloat, and its long tail helps it keep its balance. 7

No reptile can fly, but lizards called flying dragons can glide through the air by spreading flaps of loose skin on their sides. The flaps act like a parachute, so the reptile can glide down from the treetops to the ground.

A tree snake slithers among the leaves and branches of a tree. 7

11.

Like people, reptiles find out about the world around them through sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. But these senses don’t always work in the same way. (Would you like to hear through your skin?) And some reptiles have extra-special senses to help them find food or escape enemies fast. Snakes don’t have eardrums. So they can’t hear the same way we do. Snakes have sensitive skin and bones that help them feel vibrations, or small movements, in the ground. They can sense when other animals are approaching, even when they cannot see or hear them. Snakes and some lizards can actually taste smells! They flick their forked tongues in and out to collect tiny amounts of smells in the air or on the ground. Then, the snake puts its tongue on a sensitive patch on the roof of its mouth or around the mouth to identify the smells. This patch is called the Jacobson’s organ.

7

A crocodile’s eyes and nostrils are set high on its head. It can see and smell while most of its body is hidden underwater.

12.

Snakes, such as this tree snake from Java, gather scents from their surroundings. 7

Chameleons can move their eyes in different directions. This means they can hunt for food in two different areas.

8

Snakes’ eyes are always open. They can’t even blink. Their eyes are covered by see- through scales that keep dust out. Some lizards have very large eyes that help them see in the dark. Many snakes, including boas, have a super sense that they use for hunting—they can see heat. A boa has special patches on its lips that help the

snake see the body heat of warm animals such as birds, bats, and mice. The boa uses this sense, like a “third eye,” to hunt, even in the dead of night.

SIDEBAR

A THIRD EYE Tuataras and some lizards have a “third eye” on top of their heads. This weird skin- covered patch senses light and dark. Experts think it helps these reptiles to adjust to life in the different seasons and changing daylight hours.

13.

No matter their size, reptiles can be fierce

hunters. Zebras and water buffalo are prey for some of the larger crocodiles and snakes. Smaller species mainly hunt insects, worms, shellfish, and mice. It’s a reptile- eat-reptile world out there—these predators are happy to make a meal of a smaller cousin.

A chameleon shoots out its long, sticky tongue to catch insect food. 7

Caimans, alligators, and crocodiles are clever hunters. They lie in wait in waterholes and rivers and pounce on animals coming to the water’s edge to drink. The crocodile lunges forward with a splash, grabs its prey, and sinks back underwater.

SIDEBAR

NO THANKS, I’M FULL Cold-blooded reptiles do not make heat for their bodies from the food they eat. They keep warm by lying in the sun. This means that they need a lot less food than warm-blooded animals, such as humans. Some reptiles only eat three or four meals a year!

14.